The breaking of the fellowship (NASA, not Lord of the Rings)

NASA as we know it ended last week in Building 9 on the campus of Johnson Space Center.

The final four, the last crew to fly aboard a space shuttle, quietly met for the last time, officially, as a group before they go their separate ways. They did so for the purpose of meeting with the original shuttle duo, John Young and Robert Crippen, who flew on STS-1 lo those many years ago.

Smiley Pool, who has spent a lot of time with the crew during the last year, captured the moment on film.

Chris Ferguson, the last shuttle’s commander, said he cherished the moment because the Young and Crippen launch inspired him during his freshman year at Drexel University.

When he saw the roll program part of the launch, coming shortly after liftoff, Ferguson said he was aghast.

“I still remember it,” he said. “Here I am, a wet-behind-the-ears college student, blending in with hundreds of thousands of other college students, and I watched the launch, and I remember watching the roll program, and I thought, ‘Oh crud, this is it. It’s all over. That thing’s going to roll and it’s going to blow up.”

Fortunately, it didn’t. And now Ferguson and his crew will join Young and Crippen in the history books.

Since landing in July the crew has been on a whirlwind tour. No less than three of them ribbed me during the photo shoot about the mildly critical blog entry I wrote about one of their stops, a visit to New York’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

In addition to traveling around the country they’ve also spent a lot of time in Houston, like going to Astros games.

And last week, just before the final visit to Johnson Space Center, the crew got invited the White House where they spent 15 or 20 minutes with the President. Pilot Doug Hurley told me it was really cool to walk into the Oval Office with the President himself opening the doors.

The crew of Atlantis visits the White House. (NASA)

And now its over. Last Wednesday’s conclave in Building 9 ends the fellowship of the four. As Ferguson said, “We’re done.” And so ends the crew office’s involvement in the shuttle program.

Sad day for the USA because of owebummer. He never should have passed the supreme court vetting and should not even be our potus. What a horrible thing to leave us defenseless in space. We will all be sorry we ever heard the name of owebummer.

If you’re going to levy baseless accusations, you could at least back your claims with some facts. Please explain how the end of the Shuttle Program leaves the US defenseless in space (satellites and other probes are still being launched, and the ISS is still orbiting).

Also please explain, citing references, how President Obama is solely responsible for ending the Space Shuttle Program. This has been discussed before, and with even a mild effort to do a bit of research you’d know that this is not the case. I can argue that the eventual end of the Space Shuttle Program can be traced back to the Nixon administration, with each successive administration sharing some responsibility.

History will remember Obama an the president who presided over the end of America’s human space flight program. Hopefully the history books will be able to say something about his successor who reversed the short sighted actions of the current president.

Please read supermonkey’s comment above. The end of the shuttle program (not manned spaceflight; that is alive and well and will last until 2020 at least) was decades in coming. And remember that it was Bush43 who signed the executive order closing the program.

and there we go… The responses to this blog explain perfectly why we don’t have a space program. People would rather take cheap partisan political shots than take a moment to be in awe of men like Young and Crippen, and all those that followed, and will continue to follow.

Too right, my friend. As Bruce Kasanoff points out in this masterful survey of troll meteorology, even hurricanes can’t escape politics.
Leaving that aside, though, congratulations and a round of applause for the crew…

There will always be a special place in my heart for JSC. I had the pleasure of working in the Space Station program for a couple of years. I have never worked in a more pleasant environment. From Astronauts, to corner office managers, down to the people in the trenches I was never treated better. As other IT Pros can attest, people aren’t normally glad to see us, but at JSC I was welcomed with open arms and warm smiles no matter what the situation was. I haven’t experienced anything like it since…